Identifying and preserving the heritage sites in our communities acknowledges the important link to the past and our shared heritage.

Our work in conserving some of British Columbia’s heritage sites has resulted in award-winning and nationally recognized sites that connect design excellence, adaptive reuse and historic preservation . With collaboration from local community and political groups, we collectively ensure the continued relevance of the sites as well as capture the broader socioeconomic impact they had on British Columbia.

Heritage BC recently announced a new Japanese-Canadian Historic Places Recognition Project to be completed on behalf of the British Columbia Ministry of International Trade and the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations. They are seeking nominations of historic places of place with heritage values believed to be significant or important to the Japanese-Canadian community in BC. Sites don’t have to be grand, or even very old. They can range from buildings, monuments, cemeteries and parks to entire neighbourhoods or districts, and abandoned sites that once stood, but have now been reclaimed by nature.

A selection of the nominated places will be officially recognized by the Government of British Columbia and placed on both the B.C. Register of Historic Places and the Canadian Register of Historic Places.

To nominate a historic place complete the online form by September 9, 2016:

• A rich history of Japanese workers in British Columbia can be found at the Britannia Heritage Shipyards National Heritage site. RATIO’s work there started with the restoration and opening to the public of the award-winning Murakami Residence. Since then, we’ve consulted on the relocation of the historic stilt houses from across the Steveston Area and a new interpretive Centre in the Seine Net Loft. Future works are currently under design and development with Britannia Building committee and City of Richmond

Heritage BC supports heritage conservation across British Columbia through education, training and skills development, capacity building in heritage planning and funding through the Heritage Legacy Fund.